On the evening of Friday, February 23, the three teenagers and a 14 year old girl were travelling in a car, which was being driven by a 36 year old man, when by chance, they drove past Jordan, who was walking to Tesco Express in Berkhamsted.

The 16 year old girl had fallen out with Jordan and had been telling those in the car about it.

One of the group shouted an abusive word to Jordan and their car journey continued to nearby Bell Lane where they parked up. It is believed they were sitting in wait for Jordan to return from the shop.

The boys then got out of the car and went to Westfield Road where they encountered Jordan as he walked home.

They assaulted him and one of the teenage offenders fatally stabbed him in the right leg with a knife that they had earlier stolen from a shop in Hemel Hempstead.

The pair then ran back to the car and fled the scene leaving Jordan bleeding to death. He collapsed in the front garden of a home and was given first aid by the residents until emergency services arrived. Despite their best efforts Jordan was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 16 year old girl was later given a knife by one of the boys, which she put in a kebab wrapper and placed in a bin at her home. It was recovered by police when she was arrested. Forensic examination was unable to confirm whether it was the knife that caused the fatal injury.

In interview one of the 15 year old boys said that he ‘only did the punching and kicking’ but admitted to being the instigator of the unprovoked attack. The other 15 year old gave no comment during police interviews.

Both boys were jointly charged with murder but guilty pleas to manslaughter were later accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service on June 19 when the case was adjourned for sentencing.

Detective Chief Inspector Michael Branston from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit said: “This is a tragic tale of a young man being killed by teenagers over something very trivial.

“These boys had stolen kitchen knives earlier in the day from a store in Hemel Hempstead to arm themselves and then used at least one of the weapons when carrying out an unprovoked and violent attack on Jordan.

“It seems that they had not even taken a moment to consider the devastating consequences of their actions before carrying out the attack. One of the boys in this case is reported to have said ‘All I thought I did was stab him in the arse’. There seems to be a misconception among some people, who think it’s acceptable to carry knives, that stabbing someone in this region is in some way ‘safe’. This is not the case. There is never a ‘safe’ place and the untimely and tragic death of Jordan, whose femoral artery was severed causing him to bleed to death in the street, really brings this message home.

“I hope that young people and anyone who carries a knife or is considering doing so takes heed of this case and thinks twice before picking up a weapon.

“Jordan’s family have been left devastated and heartbroken by the loose words and rash actions of a few teenagers on that night in February.

“I’m also sure that the families of the offenders have also had their lives torn apart as they’ve watched their children be arrested and jailed.”